Is there a problem, Ms Lawson?
by cassie.hack
Summary: After being dumped by Shepard in ME3, Miranda is suddenly forced to take on another mission with her former commander... Great...
1. Chapter 1

**"Is there a problem, Ms. Lawson?"**

_._

_A/N: Yes! Finally a day full of new ideas (looks accusingly at writer's block banned to the far end of the room for today) that makes it easy to write... This is just a little scribble. Had this idea for a while (yes, people, that's what happens when I watch "Archer")._  
_As for my other stories: don't worry, I'm constantly working on them as well, they're just not fit to be seen/read yet, but I've got stuff in store for all of them... :)_

* * *

"No!"

Admiral Hackett looked up from the datapad in his hand. "Pardon?"

Miranda nervously crossed her arms in front of her chest. "With all due respect, sir... Is there no one else you could send?"

Admiral Hackett put the datapad down on his desk and laced his fingers before he calmly answered. "Ms. Lawson, if the troubling information we received is accurate and there are attempts to rebuild Cerberus, we need to prevent this before it's too late."

"But isn't there someone else to accompany me?" _Instead of that bloody incompetent-_

"Commander Shepard and you worked well together taking down the Collector base all those years ago, as I read in my reports..." _Yes, but that was before that bloody idiot dumped me..._

"That is correct, sir, but if I may add: Shepard also worked _very _well with her new squad while defeating the Reapers as I heard. Perhaps it would be better to send her on this mission with one of them..." _Besides, she's immature and unprofessional!_

"But who better to send with her than you? You are a former Cerberus operative, you know exactly how they work..." Seeing Miranda shifting her weight and placing a hand on her hip, he added, "Is there a problem, Ms. Lawson?"

Miranda took a deep breath, rubbing her temples. _You can do this, Lawson, you're a professional... _"No, sir." _Strictly professional..._

* * *

_Unprofessional!_

Miranda's eyes narrowed at the sight of her former commander approaching the shuttle. She was leaning against its hull, her arms crossed, since she and the shuttle pilot had been forced to wait an hour at this bloody landing zone in the middle of nowhere until the 'savior of the galaxy' had decided to join them so that they could finally get this mission over with...

Shepard was smiling her usual cocky smile as she'd finally reached them, a bag (hopefully containing her armor and not liquor, but by the smell of it, she'd already had enough of that...) over her shoulder.

"Well then..." Shepard nodded at the shuttle pilot who got back on his feet (after joining Miranda outside the shuttle but quickly realizing that the former Cerberus operative wasn't in the mood for small talk, instead, he'd sat down and leaned against the hull to take a nap while they'd waited) and enterd the shuttle. Shepard's eyes were on Miranda. "Shall we?"

Miranda let her eyes wander over the unwelcoming desert surrounding them. "What were you even doing here?"

Shepard shrugged. "There's this new bar-"

Miranda raised her hand. "I don't even want to know..." she announced, turning on her heels and entering the shuttle.

Once inside, Miranda sat down on a bench opposite the door, activating her omni-tool and scanning their destination's blueprints while the shuttle doors closed behind Shepard and they took off. It seemed that, even after the Illusive Man's death, a few remaining Cerberus operatives had decided to rebuild the organization under new management. At least that's what the information the Alliance had received anonymously (though Miranda was pretty sure it was a "present" from the Shadow Broker...) indicated. It would be-

Miranda's heart skipped a beat as she raised her head. Instead of sitting down on a bench (preferably as far away from her as possible), Shepard was rummaging through the bag she'd brought along, the N7-shirt she'd worn before already lying on the floor next to her. Miranda swallowed once, trying to take her eyes off and focus on the mission at hand, but failing... Was that tattoo new? It certainly accentuated her- Shepard got back up, her back still on her, and Miranda quickly averted her eyes, narrowing them as she scrolled through the information on her omni-tool once more.

According to the list of arrivals and departures, they would encounter approximately 40 Cerberus operatives and personnel. Nothing they couldn't handle... Once they'd reached the facility's core, they would gather all the data they could find, hopefully containing names and coordinates as well as planned operations, making it easier for the Alliance to take out the rest of those bastards before the cancer Cerberus had become could spread out once more... And knowing Shepard, they would leave with a-

_Bang!_

Miranda's head shot up. Obviously, the sound had been caused by Shepard colliding with the shuttle wall.

_Changing into her armor in a flying shuttle..._ Miranda shook her head._ Absurd! _

Shepard had quickly regained her balance again and was now peeling out of her pants, causing a slight blush to appear on Miranda's cheeks. _She's still wearing that silly N7-underwear..._

"Enjoying the view?"

Miranda met Shepard's eyes. How had she not noticed her look over her shoulder? Shepard turned and was now facing her fully, still wearing way too little clothing to have a normal conversation without being distracted... Miranda's eyes narrowed and she simply huffed while forcing her attention back to her omni-tool.

Shepard's grin widened. "You know, if you want to help, you just have to ask..." she offered.

"In your dreams!"

"Suit yourself..."

"Interesting choice of words..."

Shepard gave a short laugh before she turned back to her armor.

* * *

_"Shepard... am I still part of your plan? It's been so long, I wasn't sure where we stood." Miranda averted her eyes._

_"We..." Shepard took a deep breath before continuing. "Need to stay focused on the war, on survival. We can't go back to what we were." _

_Miranda's face dropped. "Of course." She scratched her forehead in irritation while continuing, "I... I understand. You're right to be cautious." Feeling the tears fill her eyes, she quickly turned._

_"I'm sorry, Miranda," came Shepard's voice from behind her._

_She rubbed her nose a couple of times to regain her composure before she straightened up again. "It's all right, Commander. It's done," she stated, still not able to turn back around._

_"Okay."_

Oh, you bloody...

* * *

A sudden shake of the shuttle jolted Miranda out of her memories. She looked up and her eyes immediately narrowed._ Damn it, if she doesn't stop playing with that gun, she'll kill us before we even get to the landing zone... _She ran a hand through her hair. _And how many times is she going to count those bloody thermal clips again?_

Shepard's head rose as she noticed the movement on the bench across from her. "Anything I should know about the facility?" she asked, her expression somewhat serious (not that she'd ever managed to remain serious for an entire mission, that bloody immature fool!).

Miranda shrugged. "We'll get in, kill everyone wearing a Cerberus logo and collect the data." She challengingly leaned forward. "That shouldn't be too hard to comprehend, even for you..."

* * *

_"I'm sorry, Miranda."_

_Was that a sob? Shepard's forehead creased in a mix of compassion and irritation. Where was the cold and calculating Miranda Lawson she'd expected to meet right now? Before she could reach out and pull her into a tight embrace, taking everything back and reassuring her of her love, Miranda squared her shoulders, her back still on Shepard._

_"It's all right, Commander. It's done," she declared in her usual, cold business-tone._

_"Okay." Shepard didn't know what else to say. For a second, she thought she'd catched a glimpse of a side of Miranda she'd never seen before, but just like so many times before, Miranda was quickly back to her old self again, leaving her wondering if it had even happened in the first place..._

_"Look, it was great to see you but I should get going..." Miranda started to walk away._

_"Are you sure?" Shepard took a few steps forward, attempting to follow her, but then stopped. Maybe Miranda had had the same thoughts after all, coming to the same conclusion, that a relationship under these circumstances would be... problematic..._

_Miranda paused once more. "Yes. I've got some personal matters to attend to," she spoke over her shoulder, the blue barrier scanning passersby for hidden weapons obscuring the tears running down her cheeks._

_Shepard nodded. Miranda obviously didn't want her help with those personal matters... "Stay in contact."_

_"I'll try." The dismissive tone told Shepard that she wouldn't._

_Shepard's eyes were on Miranda's back while she walked away from her, suddenly wondering if it had been the right choice to let her go..._

* * *

"We can use this!"

Miranda's head whipped around. "Have you lost your mind?" After a few, quick steps, she was standing next to Shepard and closed the wallsafe, almost jamming her former commander's fingers in the process. "We're in a facility filled with Cerberus operatives and so far, we've only cleared this room!" she hissed. "So could you please keep your voice down and not alert everyone still alive?"

Shepard's brows furrowed. "Jeez, would you relax? Even if they heard us, there's only one door, aside from the door we just came in, to enter this room, which would make it easy for us to take them out one by one _if_ they heard us."

Miranda's eyebrows rose. She had a point... So she _was_ paying attention to the facility's layout... Her eyes narrowed as she noticed Shepard's grin.

"Besides, I think the noise those guys," she pointedly looked at the dead Cerberus personnel covering the room's floor, "would have already alerted them even before I informed you about the usefulness of this wallsafe's content... Want a chocolate bar?"

Miranda rolled her eyes. _Who keeps chocolate in a wallsafe? _She shook her head and turned to leave the room. _Unprofessional!_

* * *

Clearing the next four rooms turned out to be as easy as the first one. As she stepped over a still smoking corpse, Miranda started wondering how she could have ever been proud, being a part of this organization... She turned to see what took Shepard so long and one of her eyebrows rose. Shepard was staring at her. While that wasn't new, Miranda still considered it rather inappropriate to admire her (many) assets while they were on a mission. They still had a job to do, after all. _And she has blown her chances to get any more of this anyway..._

Shepard's eyes were still on her as she slowly raised her gun. Miranda's eyes widened. What was she doing? She wouldn't dare-

_Bang!_

Taking a deep breath, Miranda quickly scanned her body for any wounds, still squeezing her eyes shut. When she was sure that Shepard, for some strange reason, must have missed her, she opened her eyes and took another deep breath before...

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR BLOODY MIND?"

Before she could fill her lungs once more to continue, she heard a heavy _thump_ behind her and turned her head. A Cerberus operative was lying behind her, blood still dripping from a shotwound between his eyes. Obviously surprised by their attack, he didn't have a gun in his hand. Instead, his fingers were still loosely holding a towel which he'd obviously intended to put around her neck... Her eyes narrowed. That ass...

"You're welcome," Shepard smiled as she passed her, stepping over the dead operative on her way out of the room.

* * *

"I don't think we should stay here for long..." Miranda nervously tapped her foot while keeping her eyes on the two doors leading into the room. It seemed to be an office for a high-ranking operative, judging by the large wooden desk Shepard was kneeling behind right now, rummaging through a stash of liquor she'd just found.

"Look at this stuff!" came Shepard's voice from behind her. "Most of the stuff is so old, I've never even heard of it!" She raised a bottle holding an orange, oily content. "Looks expensive..." she mused while stuffing it in her bag.

Miranda looked over her shoulder. "You're not actually planning on carrying all this liquor with you, are you?"

Shepard's head appeared from behind the desk. "It would be a shame to let it go to waste!" she exclaimed, then shrugged. "Besides, we're going to blow this place to hell anyway. No one's gonna miss it..."

Miranda huffed in annoyance once more and turned back to the door, adrenaline shooting through her entire body immediately. Accompanied by the first volley from the Cerberus agents that had stormed into the room while she'd been distracted, Miranda gracefully leaped over the desk and took cover next to Shepard, the shots hitting the wall behind them.

"Great. We could be long gone by now..." she murmured, shooting an angry glare at Shepard.

Stowing the last bottle in her bag, Shepard raised her head and gave a short laugh. "It seems you've been in a hurry the entire day... Anything special planned for tonight?" She smiled, nodding at her bag. "I think I've found liquor for every occasion, in case you're interested..."

Miranda's eyes narrowed. "Oh, you'd like to know what I have planned for tonight, wouldn't you?" Shepard's eyebrows rose at the sharp tone. "Just so you know, I'm doing great! I can't even count all the men I've slept with since we broke up!"

_Not what I meant, but okay... _"That's... good for you," Shepard offered, smiling at her shyly, which seemed to enrage Miranda even more (or maybe it was the hail of bullets making it impossible for them to move out of cover).

"Yes, that's _very_ good!" she yelled. "I never properly got to thank you for that, so: thank you for letting me go. You can't imagine how good it felt not having to fear for my life because I'm standing next to a bloody lunatic attracting hostile attention everywhere she goes!"

Shepard shrugged her shoulders, still oblivious to the emotional scale of their conversation. "I always thought you liked the thrill when we were out on missions..."

"No, I didn't!" _Yes, I did! God, if I have to listen to one more boring poem from that bloody dull idiot..._

Shepard took Miranda's silence as a sign to finally concentrate on the slowly approaching Cerberus agents, still tearing holes in the room's walls... She searched her armor's pockets and a smile spread across her face as she found what she'd been looking for...

Miranda ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, leaning against the desk in exhaustion. In her rage, she'd even forgotten about their enemies, but was quickly reminded as she heard one of the agents bark an order, followed by Shepard's body suddenly pressing her to the ground. She inhaled sharply at the sudden closeness, but before she could do (or think) anything more, Shepard pressed her hands against Miranda's ears as a loud _Boom!_ dimmed out every other sound and shook the room, the desk shoving them towards the wall and pressing them even closer together.

The loud explosion was followed by dead silence while parts of the ceiling rained down on them, showering mostly Shepard's back with debris and dust. Miranda, still protected by Shepard's body, opened her eyes slowly and found herself once more face to face with Shepard, those steely blue eyes on her. She swallowed, blinking a few times in irritation as she tried to remember when she'd been this excited... Oh, right... whenever she'd been on a mission with Shepard...

Hovering over Miranda's body for a few seconds more, Shepard took a deep breath, smiled at her and finally crawled off of her body. She pushed the desk aside, silently thanking the owner's taste for expensive (and solidly built) furniture and searched for her bag and its precious content. The bottle with the oily, orange liquor had been shattered (which was a shame, Shepard would have loved to know how it tasted...), but the remaining bottles had survived the grenade explosion... unlike the Cerberus agents...

Carefully lifting the bag, Shepard scanned the room for any survivors, but was quickly pleased with the result of her idea... It was highly unlikely that anyone could have survived the blast of the grenade which had landed right in the middle of the group, decorating the walls with their intestines...

She heard a groan behind her and turned, offering Miranda her hand and helping her get back on her feet. The former Cerberus operative let her eyes wander over the room. She nodded, impressed. "Well, that did it..."

With the smoke and dust settling, they left the room and finally found the terminals they'd been looking for, without encounting any more resistance on their way out of the facility once they'd transmitted all the data found to an Alliance server.

Even though she didn't turn around to confirm it, she knew that the explosion swallowing the facility behind them while they walked towards the waiting shuttle must have looked pretty impressive... Miranda shot a quick sideglance at Shepard walking beside her, the smile on her former commander's face telling her that she must have had a similar thought (or maybe she was already thinking about all the occasions she could drink the liquor she was protectively pressing against her chest)...

* * *

Miranda leaned back in her chair as soon as she'd finished her report for Admiral Hackett. She inhaled deeply while sending the report. Working alongside Shepard once more had been... interesting... She had to admit that it was almost impossible to find an individual as annoying but at the same time as professional and talented as her former commander. She shook her head. It didn't matter, it had been one mission and now they were both back in their own lives, Miranda doing the majority of her work from her desk (instead of on the battlefield, the thrill of shots piercing the air right next to her body but never hitting her, knowing she could die at any second with the thought at the back of her head that it would be worth it...) and Shepard was doing... whatever Shepard was doing... Probably getting drunk in some sleazy bar right now...

A knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts and she got up from her chair, stretched her back and approached the door to her apartment. Her eyes shot from the bottle to Shepard's grinning face and back to the bottle, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"I brought you something to celebrate our success." Shepard waggled the bottle at her. "Since you were there with me, I thought it would only be fair to share our findings..." She nodded at the bag over her shoulder. "I brought all the liquor I found there, just in case this one's shit..."

"Don't tell me you haven't tried it yet..."

Shepard grimaced. "It's shit. But we've got twelve more chances to find something drinkable..."

Miranda rolled her eyes but couldn't stop from smiling as she stepped aside, letting Shepard enter her apartment.

"Besides... I think there's something we should talk about..."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: So, this is for you, surfergirl3537, I hope it doesn't suck... And MOAR for Ninaeva ;) I hope you're not expecting much touchy feely stuff, after all... There's Shepard and booze... Oh and when it comes to alien liquor: who knows how this stuff actually looks/tastes? Don't blame me if it doesn't make sense/seem plausible, it's sci-fi, people... :)  
_

* * *

"Talk about?" Miranda waited for the door to close, quickly running a hand through her hair in case it was tousled before she turned. Shepard had meanwhile approached the couch in her living room and sat down on it, casually leaning back. "What is there to talk about?" She forced a smile, hoping the nervousness she suddenly felt couldn't be heard in her voice.

Shepard shrugged. "Well, I just thought..." She searched Miranda's face, who feverishly evaded her eyes, then leaned forward and opened the bag, starting to place bottles on the coffee table in front of her. She shrugged again. "Never mind."

Miranda turned away as she picked up two glasses from the sideboard separating her kitchen from her living room, thankful for the quick chance to take a deep breath without Shepard noticing. Why was she so nervous? After all, there was nothing to talk about... They had been on a mission together and it had been a success (not that she'd expected anything less)... And now they would celebrate their success. As friends...

She paused, still leaning on the sideboard. Should she prepare something to eat? Alcohol on an empty stomach wouldn't be the best idea, but was Shepard even hungry? Was she hungry? She couldn't tell. Her stomach was momentarily filled with that annoying flutter... Would they just have one drink? In that case it might send the wrong signal if she offered to cook dinner... She bit her lower lip. What would be appropriate for a situation like this? She rarely had visitors and when she'd had, their visits had been short and no one had cared about dinner... Damn it, why was she so nervous?

A cough made her turn back around. Shepard had in the meantime placed all the bottles on the coffee table in front of her and spread her arms, smiling at her. "Interested?"

Miranda inhaled sharply. _You have no idea..._

Determined, she pushed herself off the sideboard, grabbed the two glasses and walked over to the couch. She sat down next to Shepard, keeping what she assumed would be an appropriate distance for... friends. She swallowed once, forcing her racing heart to slow down. Maybe alcohol would help... She leaned forward and placed the glasses on the coffee table before grabbing the first bottle, inspecting it sceptically. It was the one Shepard had already opened... She carefully turned the cap and smelled before shooting a sideglance at Shepard, who encouragingly nodded. Miranda shrugged and took a sip without caring about the glasses standing prominently in front of her.

She grimaced, slamming the bottle back on the table. "What the hell is this?"

Shepard shrugged, an amused smile on her face. "No idea." She grabbed the bottle and inspected it, turning it from side to side. "Can't even read the label... oh, wait..." She leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes as she concentrated on the foreign symbols on the bottle. "I think that's supposed to mean... I don't know... tree?" She placed the bottle on the ground, turning to Miranda. "Did you taste the tree in this extraordinary liquor, Ms. Lawson?"

A smile started tugging at the corner of Miranda's mouth, some of her nervousness vanishing as she nodded in feigned seriousness. "Why, yes indeed, Commander Shepard. Now that you mention it... I could have sworn there was also a hint of rusty metal in it somewhere... Let's see what else we got here..." Feeling bold, she grabbed the next bottle and opened the cap. "Huh, doesn't smell that bad, actually... For a..." She turned the bottle and inspected the label, trying to decipher the symbols on it. "...turian... dog... rose puddle?"

Shepard gave a short laugh as she took the bottle from her hand and inspected the label herself. "Heh, it's a turian brandy, called the _'lake of roses'_. Well, whatever equivalent of roses turians have, anyway..." She shrugged. "I didn't know turians had a poetic side... Garrus taught me that symbol once. Also told me how expensive that stuff is. Still a very close guess, Ms. Lawson, I'm impressed..." She raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Try?" Miranda nodded, picking up both glasses for Shepard to fill.

The liquid was blue and almost clear and although the turian equivalent of roses didn't share the rose taste she knew, it wasn't as bad as the previous one. She could get used to the sweetness, actually... Leaning back on the couch, Miranda enjoyed the taste of the _lake of roses_ on her tongue some more while she watched Shepard grab the next bottle, placing the previous one back on the table.

"Well, the turian brandy is definitely considered. Let's see what other exciting flavors await us... Mmmmmh, asari whatever-that-is-wine." She turned to Miranda. "Sounds tasty..."

* * *

"You're not going to drink that, are you?" Miranda's eyebrow rose. She'd placed her arm on the couch's backrest and had propped her chin in the palm of her hand, her cheeks slightly reddened from the alcohol they'd already consumed, as she watched Shepard throw her head back and down the rest of the green liquor with the, as Miranda had decided, awful taste of mud in one large gulp.

Miranda's eyebrow rose. _I definitely won't kiss you anymore after that... _But then sighed inwardly. _Who am I kidding? Of course I would..._

Finished, Shepard sighed in content and let herself fall back on the couch, smiling triumphantly. "It wasn't that bad, actually," she stated, patting her stomach.

Miranda shook her head. "Yes, it was." She still couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face.

Shepard shrugged. "Well, _someone_ must have liked it... And I bet it was worth a fortune! Besides..." She turned her head on the couch's backrest, facing her. "You still seem to be intrigued by that salarian rum..." She nodded towards the glass in Miranda's hand holding a brown, oily liquid. Miranda lowered her head and contemplated the glass. She had stopped paying attention to the liquor she consumed a while ago, preferring to watch the woman sitting next to her...

The signal indicating that someone was at her door jolted Miranda out of her thoughts and she jumped off the couch (partly out of shock and partly out of reflex), thanking her genes for enabling her to make her way to the door somewhat gracefully despite the alcohol slightly clouding her mind... The door opened and her eyes immediately widened at the sight of the rose being presented to her by a man with short, black hair and green eyes, wearing an expensive dark suit.

The man smiled at her. "You look beautiful tonight." And placing a hand to his heart, he added, "Dare I say, your sight evokes feelings in me that not even the most beautiful sunrise could even come close to..."

Miranda sighed. _Not another one of those bad poems..._ She feigned a smile and took the offered rose, but still stood in front of the door, blocking him access into her apartment. "That's... very nice. Thank you, John." She contemplated the rose, ignoring the still smiling man in front of her door.

"I also brought some wine," he offered, pointing at a bag in his other hand.

Miranda's eyebrows shot up. _God, no! _She forced the smile back on her face. "How nice of you! I'd love to drink it with you and I'm sure you have another poem you'd like to read to me..." The man nodded eagerly. _Of course... _Miranda swallowed, turning her head slightly back towards Shepard. "But see, I already have a guest..." she started and John's eyes widened immediately.

"Is it another man?"

Miranda opened her mouth, not sure what to say as she could already see his eyes filling with tears, but was saved by Shepard who got up from the couch that moment and waved at him, shouting, "Nope, just an old friend." She grinned. "No competition here..."

Miranda's eyes narrowed as she felt a sudden sting in her chest, but she turned her head back to John who'd obviously relaxed again, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand. She started another attempt to open her mouth but Shepard's voice once more broke the silence. "You know, if he'd like, he can join us. I don't mind."

_But I do!_

Raising a bottle from the table and showing it to him, Shepard added, "We're tasting liquor we've found on our last mission, if you're interested..."

John's eyes lit up but Miranda quickly shook her head, still not moving from her place in front of the door. "No!" She waved her hand dismissively. "I don't think he would want that!" she quickly spoke over her shoulder. Turning her head back around and glaring at him threateningly, she added, "Would you?"

He seemed to get the hint and shook his head carefully. "No...?" he asked more than answered and Miranda nodded, obviously pleased with his reaction. That seemed to bring back some of his confidence and he smiled. "I guess I'll call you later, then..."

_And I won't pick up..._ Miranda smiled and nodded before quickly closing the door as soon as he leaned in to kiss her. She turned and raised a finger as she walked back to the couch where Shepard had already sat back down on, throwing the rose carelessly on the sideboard on her way. "Not one word!"

Shepard raised her hands in mock surrender. She smiled, but didn't say a word, as ordered.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Miranda pointed at the door. "We're not..." She cleared her throat. "I mean we _are_ dating... kind of... but it's nothing serious..." she hurriedly added, cursing herself for sounding like a bloody teenager.

"Sure." Shepard nodded, letting no emotion show on her face as she inspected the remaining bottles. "You can be with whoever you want to be with," she added, smiling again as she raised another bottle they hadn't opened yet, inspecting the liquid inside.

_What if I want to be with you?_

Miranda sighed, running a hand through her hair before she sat down on the couch and faced Shepard. "Maybe... we _should_ talk..."

Shepard turned away from the liquor. "About what?"

Swallowing once as she felt her heart start racing again, Miranda averted her eyes. "Old times?" _Damn it!_

* * *

Miranda snorted. "Running into a cave filled with husks..."

Shepard shrugged, sipping at her glass. "Well, somebody had to..." She gave a short laugh and turned her head to Miranda. "Do you remember the sound they made?" Miranda shuddered as she raised her own glass to her lips. "And they just kept coming and coming. At first I thought we'd just have to wait for the wave to end..."

"But then you got impatient and just stormed ahead..."

"With you and Grunt watching my back," Shepard smilingly added, leaning forward to refill her glass.

Miranda's eyebrow rose. "Well, I wouldn't say Grunt was a big help... He was more concerned about his body count..."

Shepard gave a short laugh and nodded. "Yeah, I still remember the look on his face when we told him he couldn't keep the husk heads he'd torn off because there wouldn't be enough space for them in the Cargo Hold..."

"Tank bred..." Miranda sighed, taking another sip.

Shepard leaned back against the couch, turning her head slightly towards her. "Yeah..." She smiled. "We were a good team, weren't we?"

They locked eyes and for a second, no one spoke. It almost seemed as if they were both holding their breath, waiting, until Miranda leaped over and captured Shepard's lips with her own, pressing her down on the couch.

"I've missed you," she managed to whisper between heated kisses.

Shepard freed her mouth long enough to ask, "What about that guy from before?"

Miranda paused, her face hovering only inches above Shepard's, and smiled, raising an eyebrow. "What guy?"

* * *

"So that wasn't a joke? He actually likes to read poems to you at night?"

Miranda groaned, burying her head in Shepard's neck. "Not just at night. He mostly has a new one written for me when I wake up in the morning." She reached out with her hand and pulled a blanket over the two of them, still lying on the couch (or in Miranda's case, lying on Shepard... it was a small couch...). "I should have never contacted him again on that bloody dating site."

Shepard clicked her tongue. "Well, I certainly can't compete with that..."

Miranda gave a short laugh but then shook her head, still smiling. "That's not funny! I don't want to hurt his feelings..." Her eyes narrowed. "But he's become way too clingy by now..."

Shepard nodded while she contemplated the apartment's ceiling. "Well, if you'd decide to go on missions again, you certainly wouldn't have that much time for him anymore... You'd always be away on business..." She shrugged. "Maybe you'd even have to give up this apartment, live on a ship again. Far away... And just think about how hard it can be sometimes to get a clear signal when you're out in space..." She arched an eyebrow suggestively. "Think about all the adventures that would await you..."

Miranda's eyebrow rose playfully. "And have you around me all the time, messing up my well prepared missions?" She propped her chin in the palm of her hand, her expression changing as she took a deep breath. "Why did you leave?"

Shepard's eyes were immediately on her, her smile vanishing. "I don't know..." She ran a hand over Miranda's shoulder, taking in the woman in front of her and gave a short, humorless laugh. "I honestly don't know..." She shook her head, running her free hand through her hair. "I guess I just thought... I don't know... With the whole war... I thought it would be hard to find time for each other. You weren't part of my crew anymore, you seemed to have your own things to take care of... We'd have barely seen each other..." She shrugged, a shy smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she added, "And there was the part with the high chance that I wouldn't have made it..."

Miranda shook her head, smiling as she traced one of Shepard's scars with her finger. "It could have worked..."

"Yeah, maybe..."

"You're an ass. You know that, right?"

Shepard pursed her lips. "I get that a lot, yes." She smiled.

Miranda took a deep breath. "So...?"

"So, I guess I'll be seeing you soon, then, Ms. Lawson. On our next mission together..."

"Hm..." Miranda shrugged, feigning indifference while at the same time trying to hide her smile. "Maybe..."

Who was she kidding? She would send a request to Admiral Hackett first thing in the morning...


End file.
